Category Archives: Integrating lifes purpose through art

Untangling Our Strings

Maybe there’s a knot of resentment that we could untangle with a bit of patience and forgiveness. Perhaps there’s an interlocking loop of mistaken communications that could be smoothed with a phone call or a note. Or it could be that a few moments of stillness—a walk in the woods, down a street, or along a beach—would allow us to relax the tension on those strings and let them disentangle and unfurl like strands of kelp in a gentle tide.
Posted in Acting, Art and Entertainment, Audio Drama, authors and entertainment world, Creativity, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, head and heart connection, Heart and head connection in books, heart of an artist, Integrating lifes purpose through art, life's purpose, Mara Purl, mission and core purpose in life, musician-singer-songwriter, Opening up to New Worlds, screenwriting and acting, Uncategorized, voice performance | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Irritating Characters – Nemesis “Mrs. Lime” Debuts

Comic relief . . . dramatic tension . . . extreme contrast . . . she serves all those purposes. She had me laughing, then my editor laughed out loud, and soon my readers decided she was a “contrarian favorite”. See what you think of “Mrs. Lime.”
Posted in about issues of the heart, AHA Moments, Artists, Author Mara Purl on Blog Tour, Authors, Bellekeep Books, Book covers by artist Mary Helsaple, book covers painted by artists, Book Marketing, Books, California, Cambria, Central Coast, Coastal regions, Connecting through books, E-Books, e-books by Mara Purl, Environment, Fictitious town of Milford-Haven, Finding treasures of the heart in books, flow of life, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, head and heart connection, Heart and head connection in books, heart of an artist, inspiring through fiction novels, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Magical moments, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Nurturing the soul, Painting, power of the universe, Power of Universe, Small Town Fiction, When Hummers Dream by Mara Purl, When Hummers Dream e-book, Wildlife, Women's Fiction | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Writer at Work, Otters at Play

So here was this cute, inventive, self-sufficient creature who was an “index species”—that is, one whose presence was a key to the ecological well-being of its own region. I was liking these furry, sweet-faced critters even more than I thought I would.
Posted in about issues of the heart, Bellekeep Books, Bellekeep Books by Mara Purl, California, Central Coast, Current Event, E-Books, e-books by Mara Purl, Ecology, Environment, Escapism through romance novels, Fictitious town of Milford-Haven, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Head & Heart, head and heart connection, head and heart connection, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, heart of an artist, inspiring through fiction novels, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, Live Your Best Life, Magical moments, Mara Purl, Mara Purl Romance novels, Marine Mammals, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Novel series, Nurturing the soul, Ocean Elements, Romantic fiction, Santa Barbara, Science, Small Town Fiction, When Otters Play by Mara Purl, women and romance novels, Women authors, Women's Fiction | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Paternity Test

My father let us see that love really is reciprocal. I helped him walk when he was ninety-nine, reassured him his journey made sense, made a difference, and had value greater than the gold of kings. When it came to the real paternity test, he passed with flying colors. Read more
Posted in about issues of the heart, Acting, AHA Moments, Art and Entertainment, BBC Radio, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Japan, life's purpose, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Mother, Writing | 5 Comments

Cousins Reunion

I came away with the impression that most of the greats and grands of the family were quite heroic in their way, surviving the Great Depression, serving in the Great War, and coming home to tend their farms and care for their families.
Posted in about issues of the heart, Authors, Bellekeep Books, familial history, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Finding treasures of the heart in books, head and heart connection, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Live Your Best Life, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Novel series, Nurturing the soul, self-growth, Small Town Fiction, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dresses from Mom

For her final birthday, we planned a unique performance. Mom designed a dress for me to wear, and had her wonderful seamstress make it. A dazzling green organza confection, it made me feel as if I was wearing jade sliced as thin as clouds—and then she gave me her jade jewels to go with it. I knew this would be the last dress she’d ever give me.
Posted in Art and Entertainment, authors and entertainment world, Family, family history and genealogy, head and heart connection, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Intuition, Life in Baby Boomer years for Women, Logical Thinking, Magical moments, Mara Purl, Mother, Nurturing the soul, parenting girls, Power of Universe, Uncategorized, Women authors | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The After Days

Projects have always been a way of life for the Purls. Sometimes a bane, sometimes a boon, projects define our time and express our various core purposes. That’s what I’ll miss the most, I think—that I won’t get to do the next project with Mom.
Posted in about issues of the heart, AHA Moments, Authors, Bellekeep Books, Creativity, familial history, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, flow of life, head and heart connection, head and heart connection, Heart, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, life's purpose, Love, Magical moments, Mara Purl, mission and core purpose in life, Mother, Mothers & Daughters, Nurturing the soul, Personal Essays, power of the universe, relationships, self-growth, sychronicity of life, synchronicity, Transformation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Year for Mom: The Big Day

The Purl Family “A Year for Mom” are posts written the year of my mother’s illness and her passing. It had started as one of Mom’s bright ideas. Though she and Pere had been unable to fly to California to see my sister Linda perform the remarkable one-woman show The Year of Magical Thinking, she imagined that, somehow, the show could come to her. Read more
Posted in Acting, Art and Entertainment, authors and entertainment world, Family, family history and genealogy, Family values, Heart, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, life's purpose, Magical moments, Mara Purl, Mara Purl, mission and core purpose in life, Nurturing the soul, Personal Essays, Public Speaking, Transformation, Women authors | Leave a comment

Indie Book Tour – Women’s Voices at Kepler’s Bookstore, Menlo Park, CA

Mara Purl, Victoria Zackheim, Pam Houston, Elizabeth Rosner, and Zoe Fitzgerald Carter read from their works at their first Women's Voices event at Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park near San Francisco, California.
Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Authors, Book Clubs, Book Marketing, Books, Books for Baby Boomers, Bookstores - Independent, California, Community, Connecting through books, Creativity, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Head & Heart, Heart, Heart and head connection in books, Integrating lifes purpose through art, involvement in issues near and dear to heart, Love of Books, Mara Purl, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, mission and core purpose in life, Nurturing the soul, Opening up to New Worlds, synchronicity, When Whales Watch by Mara Purl, Where the Heart Lives by Mara Purl, Women authors | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indie Book Tour – Coalesce Bookstore, Morro Bay, CA

Thanks for joining me on the 2012 MARA-thon! This includes a physical book tour through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California, and it includes a national blog tour. During the entire MARA-thon, please be sure to download your FREE prequel short story, When Whales Watch at www.MaraPurl.com/downloads. As of January 1, you’ll be able to find purchase links for all e-readers at https://marapurl.com/books/when-whales-watch.

This is posted from the road during my All-Indie-Bookstore book tour titled MAPPING THE JOURNEY OF YOUR HEART. Revisit the entire tour at any time by visiting www.MaraPurl.com/calendar where you’ll see event details, links to the bookstores, and soon, photo archives.… Read more

Posted in about issues of the heart, Art and Entertainment, Authors, Bellekeep Books, Book Clubs, Book Marketing, Books, Bookstores - Independent, California, Coastal regions, community and transformation, Connecting through books, Finding treasures of the heart in books, Heart, Integrating lifes purpose through art, Mara Purl, Mara Purl Romance novels, Milford-Haven Novels & Stories, Novel series, relationships, Romance Novels by Mara Purl, Romantic fiction, Small Town Fiction, synchronicity, Transformation, When Whales Watch by Mara Purl, Where the Heart Lives by Mara Purl, Women and Romance Novels, Women's Fiction, womens literature, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment